Always

twelve

KYLER

The night wasn't over yet.

We still had so much time on our hands. We still had so much we could do.

And I still wasn't ready to let this day end. I wasn't ready to let her leave for now.

"There's one more place." I said, buckling my seatbelt. I shot my eyes to her face, gauging her reaction.

"One more place?" She was grinning.

I nodded, tucking my bottom lip between my teeth. She was still new to the city, and sure, she had heard of the famous places like Central Park or the Metropolitan Museum, but that wasn't why I joined her today. I wanted her to see those hidden parts which weren't that well discovered. I wanted her to feel the rush I had felt when I found new places which hadn't yet been tainted by ugliness. I wanted her to see those uncommon parts of the city where the crowds weren't as thick and the buzz of the hours died out.

It only felt fitting for us; running away from the rush and finding our own peace in damned places. The Bookmobiles. The rooftop. 

The car ride was silent and I allowed Luna to have her own space while she flitted through her notebook, added notes here and there in the margins or as she smiled at the pictures on her phone. And all the while, I was contemplating every action drawing me nearer to the place I wanted to show her.

Would it be too personal bringing her to yet another place? Too fast? I had no idea. But I knew I wanted this. I wanted to do this.

I turned the last corner, entering a rocky road leading away from the main road and deeper into the thick trees surrounding us. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her head shoot upwards and she looked around. I knew she was curious but she didn't question it anymore. Her guard wasn't as high up.

My heart warmed. That had to count for something.

The car jostled a bit as I came to a stop, shutting the engine and quickly unbuckling the seatbelt. I grabbed a spare jacket I had in the back and quickly threw it on. I didn't turn to see if she was following as I pulled open the door and stepped out. Without turning, I heard her door open and her footsteps followed as she walked around the car to come at my side.

A light layer of fog lingered above the rushing stream--the pace wasn't as fast as it used to be and I knew that sooner or later it was going to freeze over. The last of the poppies growing on the banks swayed slightly and I frowned slightly as the last petal from one of them fluttered to the ground. I felt the dampened grass under my boots as it sloshed with the lightest touch. The sky was a canvas of spilt hues of blue and orange. Sunlight was melting away into the darkness.

I finally turned my head, gauging her reaction as she slowly twirled around, taking in the tall trees around us, the clear patch where you could see the sky, the chopped up grass right before the wooden dock appeared and the stream right next to it.

Her hair blew in the wind and her cheeks and nose were a vibrant red from the cold. My lips quirked up as I noticed how my sweater was slightly too big on her. Her bright eyes watched everything with such excitement in them it made my heart flutter. She was...mesmerising.

"Do you like it?" Damn, my voice was rough.

She was still looking around, not meeting my eye as she answered, "what is this place?"

"A small creek I found when I was fifteen." I sighed, staring out at the water. "It's been here for ages."

"It's really pretty." Her voice was soft. I turned my head towards her once more, my lips quirking with a smile.

"Come on." I reached for her hand, pulling her along with me as I walked over to the wooden dock and sat down right near the edge. Folding my legs underneath me, I waited until she settled beside me. Our shoulders brushed together, our elbows knocking and her hand still gripped mine.

"We have school tomorrow." She pointed out randomly. I groaned.

"Don't ruin the mood, Luna." I whined. She laughed, bumping shoulders with me.

"Hey, it's not that bad."

I shot her a look. "Easy for you to say. Everyone loves you."

She frowned. "No, they don't. I barely talked to anyone.

"You don't need to. Word about you already spread. Everyone thinks you're an angel." And they wouldn't be wrong to think so.

"Word about me has spread?" My eyes shot to her face. The tinge of embarrassment and anxiety in her voice was enough to put me on alert.

I shrugged slightly. "I mean--" I took a deep breath-- "people know you aren't Tanner's blood sister. And it's not a big deal, you know. The jocks just like to exaggerate situations."

The whole thing had stemmed up from the jocks after they had found out that the star quarterback now had a sister. The rest of the school was doing just fine before it was made a big deal but now that the jocks had made it into something huge, everyone followed suit like dogs.

Luna blinked, taking a deep breath. "Right."

I frowned. The uncertainty and insecurity was still there. I should have never brought the topic up.

But before I could find a way to lighten the atmosphere, she spoke up. "How's music going for you?" She turned to face me, an excited grin on her face.

That was all she needed to do to change the mood. 

I sighed, smiling when my breath fogged up in front of my face. Was she cold? "The same."  I tucked our interlocked hands in my pocket. "Practice one song over and over again until it's down cold in your brain and then pray like hell that Mr. Kaminsky likes it."

"Is he hard to work with?"

"He's indecisive as shit." I gave her a lopsided grin. "But at least he doesn't bullshit us into thinking we're good and tells us straight up about our faults."

"Seems like a good man." She commented. I laughed, nodding.

"What about you?" I bumped shoulders with her, shuffling a little closer as the wind picked up. Her hand tightened around mine in my pocket. "Wrote anything new recently?"

The smile on her lips was soft and beautiful. "Yeah, I did actually."

"You going to tell me about it?"

She bit her lip and I knew she was fighting her smile. "Someday."

My eyebrows rose. "Someday?"

"Yeah." She sighed, resting her head on my shoulder. I stared down at her, swallowing hard. She tipped her head slightly so her eyes could meet mine. "We have time, right?"

My eyes flickered over her face, falling on the bridge of her nose and the light dusting of freckles over her skin and dropping down to the dip of her cupid's bow. She seemed almost...unsure. But she was smiling.

"Yeah." I assured her. Hearing it aloud sent a flutter to my belly. "Yeah, we have time." I turned my face away from her, locking eyes at the last phlox on the bank. The rest had fallen away. I remembered reading what they represented once. My breath hitched.

I rested my head atop hers. "We have plenty of time."